Excavator



(No Model.) a Sheets-Sheet 1;

No. 464,507. Patented D160. 8, 1891.-

INVENTOH WITNESSES. m I WW/ ATTORNEY.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. W. LEMMON.

BXOAVATOR.

No. 464,507. Patented De0.8,1891.'

\Q E t l l wm hr qlr w M Mm (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W. W. LEMMON. EXGAVATOR.

No. 464,507. Patented De0.8, 1891.

' 4 1 VENTOR, W1 TNESSES' N WW, I fl .M. MM;@

A TTORNEY.

UNiTE STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

XVILLIAM \VALTER LEMMON, OF ARBROTl-I, LOUISIANA.

EXCAVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 464,507, dated December8, 1891.

Application filed January 9, 1891. Serial No. 377.236. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be, it known that I, WILLIAM WALTER LEMMON, a citizen of the United.States, residing at Arbroth, in the parish of West Baton Rouge andState of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inExcavators; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertai us to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figuresof reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention is an improvement on that class of excavating-machineswhich are adapted to automatically fill scoops or shovels with earth andto carry them to the dump, Where their contents are automatically thrownout; and it consists in the construction, arrangement, and combinationof the parts of which it is composed, as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which corresponding parts aredesignated by similar letters and numerals, Figure 1 is a perspectiveview ofthe staging and actuating mechanism carried thereon. Fig. 2 is aperspective view showing the arrangement of the excavator scoops orshovels and of other parts.

,Fig. 3 is an end view of the staging and mechanism carried thereon,they being shown in a position for being transported. Fig. 42 is adetailed perspective view of the shovel-clamps and the knock-off orstriker.

' The two sets of legs 1 are pivoted to the longitudinal bar 2 at theirupper ends, one of the said sets of legs being at each end thereof,while a platform 3 is hung from the said legs by the hangers 33, havingtheir upper and lower ends pivoted to the said legs and platform,respectively. A suitable handwindlass 4c is mounted upon each end of theplatform between the legs at that end, over which windlasses ropes 5,having their outer ends secured to the said hangers 33, are wound, thuspermitting the upper ends of the hangers and thus the legs 1 to be drawnclose together or to be released, causing them to assume the positionsshown in Figs. 1 and 3, respectively, in the former of which positionsthe legs serve as braces forthe platform when in use-while in the latterthe legs are above the ground, thus permitting the mechanism to be movedfrom place to place upon the wheels 6 under the platform. Upon theplatform is the steam-boiler 7 and the steam-actuated Windlass 8, aroundwhich passes the endless chain or cable 9, the two opposite leads ofwhich run over'the pulleys 1O 10, suspended from the longitudinal bar 2.The chain also passes around another pulley 11, secured by means of theadjustable tackle 34: to a post or other support 12 upon the oppositeside of the place to be excavated, such as A, the slack of the chainbeing such that the shovels or scrapers 13- will be dragged over thepart to be excavated, and the height of the pulleys 1O 10 being suchthat the chain will rise over the dumppile, such as B, which is betweenthe place to be excavated and the staging.

To the chain 9 are secured the shovels 13 by the front and rearbail-chains 14 and 15, the said bail-chains having their upper endsconnected with the vertically-slotted blocks 16 and 17, respectively,through the slots 18 of pulley 23, which runs over the incoming lead ofthe chain and which by gravity tends to run thereon to the lower portionthereof, but

which may be limited in its movement by means of the rope 29, secured tothe striker and to the staging. The striker 22 .has a vertical slot 91in its upper end, through which the chain 9 passes, and has upon eachside of the said slot a rearwardly-projecting arm 25,

having a concaved rear face, which is adapted to dump the scoop orshovel, as will be hereinafter more fully described, the slot in thesaid striker being of greater width than the thickness of the blocks 16and 17. A platform 24 is carried by the legs 1 near their upper ends,and serves as a support for a laborer in transferring the shovels fromthe incoming to the outgoing lead of the chain.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The staging having been putin place, the legs 1 are lowered to the ground and, the post 12 beingdriven at the proper place, the chain 9 will be passed around the pulley11, secured to the post, and be started by means of the Windlass 8 onthe platform. A shovel or scoop will then be secured near the post 12 tothe incoming lead of the chain by means of the blocks 16 and 17, withits scraping-edge toward the staging, and will thus be drawn over theground to be excavated, and, having become filled, will be carriedupward over the dump. Here the pin 19, holding the front block 16 inplace on the chain, will strike the ends of the rearwardly-projectingarms 25 of the striker and will be forced out of the slot 18, unlockingthe block and permitting the forward end of the scraper to fall,dropping the earth contained therein. The rear block 17 next strikes thestriker, and as the pin 20 thereof isnot engaged by the rear arms 25 itcarries the striker forward to above the platform 24.,wherethelaborerstationed at that point disengages the pin 20 from the slot 18 by meansof the handle 25 (which passes centrally upward from the said pin withinan open slot in the rear of the block) and thus releases the shovel fromthe incoming lead of the chain. He then catches one of the blocks 16 or17 on the outgoing lead of the chain, and thus sends the shovel back tothe post 12, where it may again be put on the incoming lead by a laborerstationed at that point.

It will be evident that as manyshovels may be placed upon the chain asmay be desired, and that, as shown in the drawings, I may place sockets27 upon the sides of the shovels, in which may be inserted removablehandles 26 for guiding them While scraping. It is also evident that whenthe rear block 17 is removed from the chain the striker will, bygravity, run down the chain 9 to an extent limited by the rope 29 tomeet the front block 16 of the succeeding shovel, causing it to drop itsload, and it will be seen that by varying the length of the rope 29 theposition of the dump may be varied.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. Theco1nbination,with a Windlass, of an endless chain passing therearound, ascraper, a slotted block secured to the forward end of the said scraperand mounted upon the said chain, a pin locking the said block upon thesaid chain, and a striker running upon the said chain and adapted todisengage the pin from the said block, as described.

2. The combination, with a Windlass, of an endless chain passingtherearound, a scraper, a forward and a rear slotted block secured tothe forward and rear ends of the said scraper, respectively, and havingthe chain passing through the slots therein, a pin locking the saidblock in place, and a striker having a pulley upon its upper end runningupon the said chain and having rearwardly-extending arms adapted tostrike the said pin, as described.

3. The combination, with a Windlass, of an endless chain passingtherearound, pulleys carrying the said chain and so situated that aportion of the length thereof is slightly above the ground to beelevated and a portion above the dnm p, scrapers depending from the saidchains by bails at their front and rear ends, and means forautomatically disengaging the forward of the said bails at apredetermined point and dumping the scaper, as described.

4. The combination, with a Windlass, of an endless chain passingtherearound, a scraper, a slotted block secured to the forward end ofthe said scraper and mounted upon the said chain, a pin locking the saidblock upon the chain, a striker running upon the said chain and adaptedto disengage the pin from the said block, and a retaining device adaptedto limit the movement of the said striker in one direction, asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two .witnesses.

WILLIAM WALTER LEMMGN.

\Vitnesses:

II. G. PARKER, FRANK DELANY.

